Timing Is Everything
by RenesmeeCarlieBlackxo
Summary: A Steroline one-shot where Stefan comes to Caroline's house in the moments before she turns off her humanity. Post 6x15


"Caroline," Stefan called out, walking into the Forbes household, "Sorry to barge in, the door was unlocked."

As he walked through the foyer and into the living room he heard Caroline whimpering softly before he noticed her sitting on the floor with Elena's lifeless body in her arms. Stefan rushed to her side, kneeling on the floor beside her. His hands reached up to grab her face, his eyes searching hers trying to understand what had happened.

She was unresponsive. Lifeless. Distraught.

Caroline just held onto Elena, staring blankly out into the living room.

Stefan turned Caroline's face towards him.

"Caroline," Stefan whispered, "What happened? Are you okay?

Suddenly, she came to life. In under a second she had let go of Elena and stormed the room in a fury.

"Of course I'm not okay," She screamed, anger filling her eyes, "My mom is dead, Stefan. I buried my mother today, my only family left. I'm alone, Stefan. Completely alone," Caroline lashed out knocking a porcelain lamp to the ground.

The sound of shattering glass was sobering to Caroline, "None of this is okay," She whispered, almost as if to herself, "I can't do this. I can't go through with this," As she spoke the anger in her voice turned into despair and the helplessness she felt permeated the room, suffocating Stefan and reminding him of the last time he had felt this hopeless…

He had become so attuned to Caroline, so attentive to her emotions. The energy emanating from her was one of defeat, something so uncharacteristic of the extraordinary Caroline Forbes. Yet, staring into her eyes it somehow made sense. Caroline was going to shut off her humanity.

"Caroline-"

"Don't," She said calmly, regaining the carefully composed façade she had portrayed throughout the entire day, "I've already made my decision Stefan. I won't face the pain of my mother's death alone. Not when I can just turn it off"

"Caroline, please," Stefan pleaded, walking towards her hesitantly, "You are not going to go through this alone. You have me, Caroline. You will always have me."

Caroline shuddered and backed up as Stefan approached her, "Stop. Just stay away from me. Please, Stefan."

Stefan kept moving forward and Caroline suddenly had nowhere to go, her back pressed against a wall with no escape. He put his arms against the wall, on both sides of her, engulfing her in him.

"Listen to me, Caroline," Stefan pleaded, his voice firm and his eyes searching hers, "I know that you think you have it all figured out. That you think this is the best solution to your grief. But it's not. Flipping the humanity switch is deadly. Beyond the destruction you'll cause to the world around you and the people you love, you'll be destroying yourself."

Stefan sighed. He noticed Caroline's composure deteriorating. She stared into his eyes as he continued, "And you can't turn it off forever. You'll come back and feel the pain and grief a thousand times more strongly than you do now. You'll feel the agony of losing your mother, the remorse of all the harm and death you caused, and the despair of knowing you were weak enough to succumb to the temptation of turning it all off…" Stefan's voice trailed off knowingly.

Stefan's words spoke to Caroline. She trusted him, his experience, and his desire to take care of her. Caroline knew Stefan only wanted the best for her. He only wanted to heal her pain. However, she knew what she had to do. She knew she wasn't capable of dealing with this type of loss.

"You don't know what it's like. You don't know how I feel, Stefan. I'm suffocating. I feel like I can't breathe from this pain. I just want it to go away and I can make it go away…" She trailed off before speaking, a finality to her tone, "I have to do it, Stefan. I need to shut it off"

"No, you can't," Stefan said, his voice breaking, "God, Caroline. I need you to trust me when I tell you that you're strong enough. I need you to let it out. I need you to feel and grieve. Please Caroline. Can you please trust me?"

Suddenly, Caroline slipped out from between his arms onto the ground and she began to sob. Her body was convulsing and the sounds she made were devastating. Stefan swore that of all the terrible atrocities he had witnessed in over 100 years of life, watching Caroline so vulnerable and grief-stricken was the worst sight he had ever encountered. Stefan fell to the floor beside her, encompassing her in his arms.

He held her for what felt like days. Each pain-wracked sob pierced his heart and her agony was excruciating. Stefan held her tightly as if had he let go of her in the slightest she would have crumbled to pieces beneath him. Eventually, the tears slowed and the shaking ceased. Stefan cradled Caroline in his arms and reached over to wipe a tear from her face. Caroline sighed.

"I can't do this, Stefan," She pleaded, her voice soft and filled with hurt, "Please try to understand. Please"

Stefan tightened his grip around her.

"No, Caroline," Stefan sighed, burying his face in her hair and inhaling her in, "I can't lose you,"

There was suddenly a sense of desperation in the way that he held her.

"Maybe I'm being selfish asking you to keep your humanity on and experience all the grief in your heart… I just don't want to lose you Caroline, not even for a single moment," Stefan sighed, "And even if you do choose to turn it off, I'm going to be here everyday by your side until you come back to me."

"Why?" Caroline asked wearily.

"Because I'm falling in love with you, Caroline Forbes."

Caroline was silent.

Stefan continued. There wasn't a trace of nervousness or hesitation in his speech, "For years I've been a witness to the light inside of you, the compassion, the wisdom, the strength… You inspire me, Caroline. You've brought a freshness and clarity to my life that I was incapable of imagining in my wildest dreams before you. And I keep thinking: maybe this is what real love is. Not the toxic and destructive "love" I've experienced in the past, but this purity and innocence…what I feel with you."

The silence was palpable in the room as Stefan stared into Caroline's eyes, trying to decipher what was going on in that mind of hers. Yet, she was silent and unreadable.

"And I know how inappropriate this is. You need time to grieve but I can't keep this to myself anymore, Caroline. I can't suppress how I feel about you. Not when any of our lives can end at any moment." Stefan whispered, "I love you, Caroline"

Caroline stared into Stefan's eyes for ages, searching for the truth of his words in his eyes. Then suddenly, she sat up from Stefan's arm, kneeling on the floor beside him. She stared into Stefan's eyes on last time before pressing a soft kiss onto his lips.

"Okay," Caroline breathed.

That one word was all Stefan needed to hear. In that one word, Stefan knew that Caroline was going to stay with him, that she was going to fight through the pain. And god, he knew she would beat it.


End file.
